We present highly efficient Tb(III)-based organic light-emitting diodes optimized by the subtle choice of bipolar hosts, adjacent layers and double emitting structures. By introducing di(9H-carbazol-9-yl)(phenyl) phosphine oxide (DCPPO) as the host for the first emitting layer, and 9-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-3,6-bis(diphenylphosphine oxide)-carbazole (DPPOC) for the second emitting layer for Tb(PMIP)(3) (PMIP stands for 1-phenyl-3-methyl-4-isobutyryl-pyrazol-5-one), the excitons can be well confined within the double-emitting layer. When 4,4',4 `'-tris(N-carbazolyl) triphenylamine (TCTA) and tris-[3-(3-pyridyl)mesityl] borane (3TPYMB) with high triplet energy levels are used as a hole transporting layer (HTL) and an electron transporting layer (ETL), respectively, the optimized device reaches a maximum efficiency of 52 lm W-1, 57 cd A(-1), i.e. a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 15%. At a practical brightness of 100 cd m(-2) (4.6 V) the efficiency remains at around 20 lm W-1, 30 cd A(-1).

Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells have been developing rapidly in the past several years, and their power conversion efficiency has reached over 20%, nearing that of polycrystalline silicon solar cells. Because the diffusion length of the hole in perovskites is longer than that of the electron, the performance of the device can be improved by using an electron transporting layer, e.g., TiO2, ZnO and TiO2/Al2O3. Nano-structured electron transporting materials facilitate not only electron collection but also morphology control of the perovskites. The properties, morphology and preparation methods of perovskites are reviewed in the present article. A comprehensive understanding of the relationship between the structure and property will benefit the precise control of the electron transporting process and thus further improve the performance of perovskite solar cells.

We present highly efficient Tb(III)-based organic light-emitting diodes optimized by the subtle choice of bipolar hosts, adjacent layers and double emitting structures. By introducing di(9H-carbazol-9-yl)(phenyl) phosphine oxide (DCPPO) as the host for the first emitting layer, and 9-(4-tert-butylphenyl)-3,6-bis(diphenylphosphine oxide)-carbazole (DPPOC) for the second emitting layer for Tb(PMIP)(3) (PMIP stands for 1-phenyl-3-methyl-4-isobutyryl-pyrazol-5-one), the excitons can be well confined within the double-emitting layer. When 4,4',4 `'-tris(N-carbazolyl) triphenylamine (TCTA) and tris-[3-(3-pyridyl)mesityl] borane (3TPYMB) with high triplet energy levels are used as a hole transporting layer (HTL) and an electron transporting layer (ETL), respectively, the optimized device reaches a maximum efficiency of 52 lm W-1, 57 cd A(-1), i.e. a maximum external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 15%. At a practical brightness of 100 cd m(-2) (4.6 V) the efficiency remains at around 20 lm W-1, 30 cd A(-1).

Organic-inorganic hybrid perovskite solar cells have been developing rapidly in the past several years, and their power conversion efficiency has reached over 20%, nearing that of polycrystalline silicon solar cells. Because the diffusion length of the hole in perovskites is longer than that of the electron, the performance of the device can be improved by using an electron transporting layer, e.g., TiO2, ZnO and TiO2/Al2O3. Nano-structured electron transporting materials facilitate not only electron collection but also morphology control of the perovskites. The properties, morphology and preparation methods of perovskites are reviewed in the present article. A comprehensive understanding of the relationship between the structure and property will benefit the precise control of the electron transporting process and thus further improve the performance of perovskite solar cells.

The high efficiency of perovskite solar cells benefits from the high density of photoinduced free carriers. We studied how exciton and free carriers, as the two major photoproducts, coexist inside the CH3NH3PbI3 perovskite. A new density-resolved spectroscopic method was developed for this purpose. The density-dependent coexistence of excitons and free carriers over a wide density range was experimentally observed. The quantitative analysis on the density-resolved spectra revealed a moderate exciton binding energy of 24 +/- 2 meV. The results effectively proved that the strong ionic polarization inside the perovskite has a negligible contribution to exciton formation. The spectra also efficiently uncovered the effective mass of electron-hole pairs. Our spectroscopic method and the results profoundly enrich the understanding of the photophysics in perovskite materials for photovoltaic applications.

During the past several years, methylammonium lead halide perovskites have been widely investigated as light absorbers for thin-film photovoltaic cells. Among the various device architectures, the inverted planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells have attracted special attention for their relatively simple fabrication and high efficiencies. Although promising efficiencies have been obtained in the inverted planar geometry based on poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) sulfonic acid (PEDOT:PSS) as the hole transport material (HTM), the hydrophilicity of the PEDOT:PSS is a critical factor for long-term stability. In this paper, a CuOx hole transport layer from a facile solution-processed method was introduced into the inverted planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells. After the optimization of the devices, a champion PCE of 17.1% was obtained with an open circuit voltage (V-oc) of 0.99 V, a short-circuit current (J(sc)) of 23.2 mA cm(-2) and a fill factor (FF) of 74.4%. Furthermore, the unencapsulated device cooperating with the CuOx film exhibited superior performance in the stability test, compared to the device involving the PEDOT:PSS layer, indicating that CuOx could be a promising HTM for replacing PEDOT:PSS in inverted planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells.

Ferroelectric materials exhibiting anomalous photovoltaic properties are one of the foci of photovoltaic research. We review the foundations and recent progress in ferroelectric materials for photovoltaic applications, including the physics of ferroelectricity, nature of ferroelectric thin films, characteristics and underlying mechanism of the ferroelectric photovoltaic effect, solar cells based on ferroelectric materials, and other related topics. These findings have important implications for improving the efficiency of photovoltaic cells.

Inverted planar heterojunction perovskite solar cells with poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene): poly (styrenesulfonate) sulfonic acid (PEDOT:PSS) as the hole transport layer (HTL) have attracted significant attention during recent years. However, these devices suffer from a serious stability issue due to the acidic and hygroscopic characteristics of PEDOT: PSS. In this work, we demonstrate a room-temperature and solution-processed CuI film which is used as the HTL for inverted perovskite solar cells. As a result, an impressive PCE of 16.8% is achieved by the device based on the CuI HTL. Moreover, the unsealed CuI-based device displays enhanced air stability compared to the PEDOT: PSS-based device. In addition, the fabrication of the CuI HTL is a simple and time-saving procedure without any post-treatment, thus making it a promising candidate as the HTL in inverted perovskite solar cells and a potential target for efficient flexible and tandem solar cells.

Ultrasmooth perovskite thin films are prepared by a solution-based one-step micro-flowing anti-solvent deposition (MAD) method carried out in air with simplicity and practicability. Engaging inert gas blow and anti-solvent drips as accelerators, ultrafast crystallizing, thickness controllable, and high quality methylammonium lead iodide films are prepared with a least root mean square roughness of 1.43 nm (1.95 nm on average), achieving the smoothest surface morphology to the best of our knowledge, as well as a rather compact perovskite layer with a high coverage ratio. Perovskite films formed from MAD require no annealing procedure to ultimately crystallize, realizing a very fast crystallizing procedure within few seconds. By controlling the thickness of perovskite films, superior photovoltaic performance of solar cells with a large fill factor of 0.8 and a PCE of 15.98% is achieved without a glovebox. MAD technology will benefit not only highly efficient photovoltaic devices, but also perovskite-based hybrid optoelectronic devices with field effect transistors and light emitting diodes as well.